The clone said to Tsunade, "According to Kakuzu, he was completely fused with the Earth Grudge Fear technique. If anyone wants to obtain it, they'd have to start with his corpse."
"Tsunade, you might want to give it a try."
Tsunade frowned. "You really want a jutsu that twisted?"
The clone shook his head. "I'm not interested in turning into some monster covered in stitches, but jutsu themselves aren't inherently good or evil."
"What matters is who uses it—and what they use it for."
"If it's for protecting Konoha, then why not use it?"
Tsunade's frown softened, and Jiraiya looked at him with admiration.
But Orochimaru's eyes gleamed as he smiled. "Alpha, you seem to know a lot about Kakuzu. Don't tell me… you're the one who took him down?"
Tsunade instinctively gasped. "That's impossible!"
Just as the clone was about to act smug, there was a sudden puff—he exploded into a cloud of smoke.
Jiraiya glanced at Orochimaru. "You think he could really take down someone like Kakuzu?"
Tsunade also looked toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru replied, "Among all the Root members we know, only Danzo might have the strength to deal with someone like Kakuzu."
"But to know this much detailed intel..."
The implication was clear.
Still, both Tsunade and Jiraiya remained skeptical.
Orochimaru smirked. "Why don't we go check out Kakuzu's body for ourselves?"
"Let's go!"
Tsunade downed her drink in one gulp and rose to her feet.
The three of them leapt into the night, quickly arriving at the morgue.
It just so happened that the medical staff were currently analyzing Kakuzu's remains.
When the person in charge saw the three Sannin enter, he didn't stop them. Instead, he smiled and greeted them.
"This is Kakuzu's corpse?"
Tsunade approached the body.
The medic nodded. "That's right. An S-rank rogue ninja."
"This guy's body structure is truly bizarre. He had five hearts inside his body, and each one was independently connected to his biological systems. It's unbelievable."
Jiraiya asked, "Was the body delivered by Root?"
The medic nodded. "Yes."
Orochimaru looked at the open wounds on the corpse. "How did he die?"
The medic explained, "We're still unsure about the exact cause of death. From the wounds, it looks like the initial injury was a piercing attack here—though it wasn't fatal."
"Then, from the center of that wound, multiple secondary wounds branched out—each one precisely piercing one of his five hearts."
Tsunade had already put on gloves and began examining the wounds. "So the fatal blow came from within?"
The medic nodded. "Yes. Which is why we can't identify which technique was used."
"Also, the wounds were meticulously cleaned before the body was delivered—likely to erase any trace of the jutsu that caused the fatal damage."
Jiraiya asked, "Could it have been Wind Release?"
While examining, Tsunade shook her head. "No, it wasn't Wind Release. More like a bladed weapon."
"Possibly some kind of specialized ninja tool…"
She speculated, then turned her attention to the black tendrils sprouting from Kakuzu's body. "Senior Medic, have these been examined?"
The medic nodded. "They're part of his chakra network—not normal chakra pathways, of course, but ones that have been transformed by chakra modification."
"Even now, these tendrils still contain powerful chakra—and surprising vitality."
Orochimaru remarked, "So the key lies in these tendril-like pathways?"
Tsunade continued her examination without looking up. "It's too early to say for certain."
...
Training Grounds.
As the clone's memories returned, Hajime couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
Thankfully, it hadn't done anything too outrageous.
Fortunately, he had already anticipated the need to hide his Wood Release, so he hadn't used a Wood Clone.
As for revealing information about Kakuzu, that wasn't a big deal either.
The details about Kakuzu weren't classified as Root secrets.
While the clone hoped Tsunade might uncover the Earth Grudge Fear technique from Kakuzu's corpse, Hajime himself didn't have high hopes.
Besides...
Even if he did get the Earth Grudge Fear technique now, he probably wouldn't use it.
It was just too ugly!
He was still young—he didn't need to worry about life extension for the time being.
As for mastering all five chakra nature transformations—
Right now, Hajime had Wind, Water, Earth, and Yang Release.
With some effort, it wasn't impossible to eventually obtain all seven.
For example, he could just dig out a pair of Rinnegan.
As for the clone's idea of pursuing Tsunade...
Hajime couldn't help but seriously consider it.
Truth be told, it was hard not to be moved by a beauty like Tsunade.
And becoming the man behind the Hokage didn't sound like a bad future at all.
With Tsunade as Hokage and himself as the Shadow of the Leaf—the Shadow of the Shinobi World—it would be the perfect match!
"But to win Tsunade over... I'll need the right opportunity."
Hajime thought for a moment, then pushed aside these distracting thoughts and returned his focus to training.
In the world of shinobi, strength was everything.
Still, the "Mental Abnormality" status from clone overuse was unpredictable, so Hajime didn't dare let his clones train while he just went off to sleep.
He wrapped up everything by midnight.
The night passed without incident.
—
The next day, Hajime received a chunk of chakra metal about the size of a human head. Then he spent 3 million ryo to commission Konoha's most renowned ninja tool shop to forge a pair of blades.
Both swords would be custom-made for his physique—one long, one short.
The long sword would be worn on his back; the short one tucked behind his waist.
From now on, Hajime would wield a dual-blade style, making full use of his hard-earned multitasking ability.
After arranging to pick up the blades in a week, he returned to the Root base.
Before he could start training again, a summon came from Danzo.
—
Half an hour later.
In a wooded area outside the Root base.
Hajime looked at his three subordinates.
In addition to Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Shino, there was a newcomer—
Yakushi Nonō!
Hajime hadn't expected Danzo to assign her to his team for training.
He withdrew his gaze from Nonō and said, "Our next target is the Sky Ninja. Any person of value, or anyone who could pose a threat to the village, is a potential target."
"Nonō, I need you to infiltrate the Sky Ninja Village and gather as much intel as possible."
Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Shino were both surprised to hear that.
Nonō had only been in Root for half a month—could she handle it?
Nonō herself looked slightly tense but pressed her lips together and nodded firmly. "Understood, Captain!"
Hajime's face remained expressionless. "What's your plan?"
"How do you intend to infiltrate Sky Ninja Village and gather intelligence?"
Nonō thought for a moment and said, "Captain, I could pose as a traveling doctor."
Inuzuka Ryo questioned, "Would Sky Ninja really trust a wandering doctor?"
Aburame Shino quickly added, "Unless there's a special situation."
"For example, if there were a large number of injured people. In that case, she could gain their trust quickly."
"Of course, that would require excellent medical skills."
Hajime said, "She's already mastered the Mystical Palm Technique. That's more than sufficient."
Inuzuka Ryo raised another concern. "Captain, what about her age?"
"Even if she uses the Transformation Jutsu, maintaining it for a long time and using medical ninjutsu could make her identity easy to expose."
Looking at the petite, ten-year-old Nonō, Hajime nodded. "That's a valid concern."
"But if I go with her, that won't be a problem."
"At that time, we'll enter the Sky Ninja Village as a brother-sister pair."
All three of them were stunned.
Inuzuka Ryo asked, "Captain, do you know medical ninjutsu too?"
Hajime gave him a glance and replied coolly, "I'll be posing as a wandering swordsman. That's enough."
Brother and sister.
A wandering swordsman and a medical ninja.
It actually sounded like a viable plan.
(End of Chapter)
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